From NBC4.com
May 13, 2008
http://www.nbc4.com/news/16255678/detail.html
WASHINGTON -- It soon will cost an extra $1 to buy a pack of cigarettes in the District.
The D.C. Council voted on Tuesday to double the city tax on a pack from $1 to $2. The tax is being raised to pay for a proposal by Council member David Catania to boost health care payments.
"I think that's an excellent idea when I look at health outcomes," said Council member Yvette Alexander. "With the health outcomes, we do want to send a strong message."
Council member Jim Graham said the tax hurts the poor the most, but it could help cut consumption.
"I'm hoping that this will encourage, as the studies have shown it will, more people to quit," Graham said.
The tax likely will take effect this fall when the 2009 budget year begins.
Virginia imposes a tax of 30 cents per pack, plus some local county taxes.
Maryland charges $2 a pack. The federal tax is 39 cents.
D.C. currently earns about $21 million a year in cigarette taxes.
Monday, May 19, 2008
New VCU study on college students and water pipes
New research from VCU on water pipes (also called hookahs) will be published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health: http://www.news.vcu.edu/news.aspx?v=detail&nid=2481
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Always something new!
Take a look at this Newsweek article about Salvia. It is a hallucinogenic member of the sage family that can be smoked or chewed.
Here is the link to the article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/136317
The Virginia General Assembly took action on this substance in the last session, but it is still available via web!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Love this poster for World No Tobacco Day!
Available from TECC in California for a only eighty cents each!
I have a framed one hanging in my office and it makes me smile when I see it every day!
Smoking still prominent on campuses nationwide
From the Tobacco Free Press (great free e-newsletter http://www.ttac.org/TCN/tfp/index.html Sign-up!)
Although high school students are increasingly saying no to smoking, students often pick up the habit in college. According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 31% of full-time college students smoke, while smokers only make up 25% of the general population. College students may be at risk for smoking because of many factors, including the stress of schoolwork, peer pressure, social gatherings, and being in a new environment away from home. Hookah smoking is also a popular trend, evidenced by a recent increase in the number of hookah bars in operation nationally. Click here for the full article.
Although high school students are increasingly saying no to smoking, students often pick up the habit in college. According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 31% of full-time college students smoke, while smokers only make up 25% of the general population. College students may be at risk for smoking because of many factors, including the stress of schoolwork, peer pressure, social gatherings, and being in a new environment away from home. Hookah smoking is also a popular trend, evidenced by a recent increase in the number of hookah bars in operation nationally. Click here for the full article.
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